Album Review: Ezra Furman – Transangelic Exodus

“A combination of fiction and a half-true memoir,” the latest album from Ezra Furman, ‘Transangelic Exodus’ is said to be, but it feels like a more confessional or a narrative for the most part. A darker, more garage-rock and even has quite a faux-DIY feel to it in places in comparison to previous works. The album, which is also said to be “a personal companion for a paranoid road trip” very much takes you on a journey through anger, loss, fear and even freedom.

The album is an urgent mess of something and even theatrical in places. ‘Transangelic Exodus’ is organised chaos but with heartfelt lyrics and it’s got a sense of freedom to it. It’s got something I’m sure everyone could relate to at least in parts. Although it’s not exactly concise and it starts to drag on, very much like a journey. It’s a mash of tracks which can’t be individually confined into a box, but they all fit together like a glove. There’s a lot of experimentation going on, but there are some parts which become quite tedious apart from stand-out tracks such as ‘Suck The Blood From My Wound’ with vivid imagery as well as escapism throughout and final track ‘I Lost My Innocence’. The latter being an upbeat, jaunty ordeal which is horribly catchy, but in a good way. It’s a far more delicate or even calmer end to the album though.

‘Transangelic Exodus’ details potentially an awakening throughout and is a brave, but not reckless narration.